Pages

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Goodbye September, Month of Mosquitoes

September wasn't the best of months in the Hudson Valley. We were grateful to have been spared the ravages Hurricane Irene and heavy rains wrought on nearby communities, but the weather has been sodden, bringing with it, as the proprietress of our local bakery is wont to say, “Mosquitoes the size of American bald eagles.”

I haven’t witnessed that phenomenon myself, but I can attest that mosquitoes have been so plentiful they’ve prevented us from taking walks, or even sitting out and looking over the hills. I can’t recall when I was this happy to have the weather turn colder.

Still, even this sorry September had its pleasures. We had a fine buck pose for us outside our front window and bring his family to graze in our front yard. (Though I confess to less delight when they got into the garden and hard-pruned our beans and squash.)

Before the mosquitoes were truly upon us, we were able to take a walk at Innisfree Garden, too.

We thought we’d entirely missed the lotus flowers this year, but a few were still out.

Back home, a flock of robins lit on the lawn, joined by some flickers pecking in the grass. A pileated woodpecker let out its wild cry and sailed into the woods. Best of all: our first year here, a grand tribe of wild turkeys strutted back and forth across our yard. Since then, we’ve not see one.

11 comments:

Hi Susan,A lovely show of photographs portraying the beauty of where you live! That deer portrait is lovely, even though he took a fancy to your vegetables! And as for the Wild Turkeys, well, I am speechless!JFollow me at HEDGELAND TALES

That's why I don't have a garden--bucks like the one here, but isn't he beautiful! The Lotus Blossom photo is perfect. And, as for those mosquitoes, they never were bad for us here in Oklahoma but the gnats are still driving me crazy.

Dear Susan, I like that I get such an inpressing view of your home country - I never knew that you have lotus there. Such a beautiful photograph! And the mosquitoes: awful! This morning I woke up and had one bite: they try to get into the warmth via the balcony. But this 'summer' and beautiful autumn they were not to be seen - or heard - (I am slightly allergic to them). The deer looks great - though I can imagine that it is not funny to have them in the garden, nibbling away bark and beans. In Berlin we have lots and lots of boars - in the city. Can you write sometimes about Innisfree Garden? PS: I will try out your suggestion with the RSS.

A neighbor of ours, here in Kula HI, found a buck swimming in their decorative pond (in other words not a huge pool of water) last week. They have wide open spaces behind their home so they see all kinds of wild life. The wild pigs are the most destructive. As far as mosquitoes, we had a plethora a couple of months ago and happy to say short lived.

Hi Susan,Some beautiful photos here. Luckily, in England, we do not have to worry about mosquitoes of any size.Did you know that most American bald eagles actually reside in Canada? And speaking of turkeys, it was of course, Canadian Thanksgiving on October 10 :)With respect and kind wishes, Gary

Suze: Lotus flowers are such dazzlers, aren’t they? And they pose so nicely, too—not like those pesky birds, always flitting off just when you’re trying to focus.

John: I’m glad I got a couple passable shots of those turkeys to share, even if only through the window pane. We haven’t seen them now for a while—a fine young red fox came through, so we suspect (hope) they knew better than to show themselves again.

Rubye Jack: The deer definitely own the place, and that’s fine with us. The only way anyone around here can have a garden is by enclosing it with deer-fencing, which we have, too, but there was a gap where there should have been a gate, and this year, they found us out!

Britta: How interesting that you have boars right in the city of Berlin! I will do something more on Innisfree, though it may take a bit to sort through the photographs. It is a lovely place.

jms: Quite the decoration for a decorative pond! Yes I bet you get the mosquitoes out there, when it’s the season, too. And interesting that you get wild pigs, too. I can well imagine they’d make a mess of things.

David: We do live in a beautiful place—I’m glad the photos captured it a bit. As for mosquitoes, I remember going to England the first time and wondering how on earth people could live with their windows open and no screens. May it remain so for a long time to come!

Hilary: That buck was a particularly handsome specimen. I don’t recall seeing one in our yard with quite such a rack. And yes, we are relieved to have escaped the wrath of Irene. Neighboring communities didn’t fare so well, to say the least.

Megan: Huge praise, coming from you, the ace photographer and artist. Every time I look at your photographs, I learn something new about how to compose a shot—though I will never come close to what you achieve.

Gary: I am always so pleased when you offer up a Canada fact—and this one is particularly delicious. Of course, as we south of the border are wont to forget, Canada is in America—North America, that is!

Friko: I’m so pleased you liked that particular photograph. I love the simplicity of that view. I was back today at Innisfree, and those three trees have shed their leaves, so that particular view is gone until next year.

Every effort is made to identify and credit any material of others used on these pages and to use it only within the bounds of "fair use." Such material will be removed promptly at the copyright holder's request.